Hemp is the same plant as
marijuana, its scientific name is "cannabis sativa." For
thousands of years hemp was used to make dozens of
commercial products like paper, rope, canvas, and textiles.
In fact, the very name "canvas" comes from the Dutch word
meaning cannabis, which is marijuana. That's correct, real
canvas is made from marijuana!

Many years ago
hemp/marijuana was unjustly banned. However, hemp has
recently been rediscoverd as a plant that has enormous
environmental, economic, and commercial potential. What
follows are some fascinating facts about hemp/marijuana -
facts that will shock most people:

The potential of hemp for
paper production is enormous. According to the U.S. Dept. of
Agriculture, one acre of hemp can produce 4 times more paper
than one acre of trees! All types of paper products can be
produced from hemp: newsprint, computer paper, stationary,
cardboard, envelopes, toilet paper, even tampons.

FACT: THERE IS NO TREE OR
PLANT SPECIES ON EARTH CAPABLE OF PRODUCING AS MUCH PAPER
PER ACRE AS HEMP! HEMP IS NUMBER ONE!

Paper production from hemp
would eliminate the need to chop down BILLIONS of trees!
MILLIONS of acres of forests and huge areas of wildlife
habitat could be preserved.

Trees must grow for 20 to 50
years after planting before they can be harvested for
commercial use. Within 4 months after it is planted, hemp
grows 10 to 20 feet tall and it is ready for harvesting!
Hemp can be grown on most farmland throughout the U.S.,
where forests require large tracts of land available in few
locations. Substituting hemp for trees would save forests
and wildlife habitats and would eliminate erosion of topsoil
due to logging. Reduction of topsoil erosion would also
reduce pollution of lakes/rivers/streams.

Fewer caustic and toxic
chemicals are used to make paper from hemp than are used to
make paper from trees - LESS POLLUTION!

Hemp can also be substituted
for cotton to make textiles. Hemp fiber is 10 times stronger
than cotton and can be used to make all types of clothing.
Cotton grows only in warm climates and requires enormous
amounts of water. Hemp requires little water and grows in
all 50 states! There are now many stores in the U.S. that
sell hemp-derived products such as clothing, paper, cheese,
soap, ice cream, cosmetics, and hemp oil. Demand for these
products - not even in existence in 1992 - is growing
rapidly.

Hemp naturally repels weed
growth and hemp has few insect enemies. Few insect enemies
and no weed problems means hemp requires NO HERBICIDES and
FEW or NO PESTICIDES!

Cotton requires enormous
pesticide use. 50% of all pesticides used in the U.S. are
used on cotton. Substituting hemp for cotton would
drastically reduce pesticide usage!

Hemp produces twice as much
fiber per acre as cotton! An area of land only 25 miles by
25 miles square (the size of a typical U.S. county) planted
with hemp can produce enough fiber in one year to make 100
MILLION pair of denim jeans! A wide variety of clothing made
from 100% hemp (pants, denim jeans, jackets, shoes, dresses,
shorts, hats) is now available.

Building materials that
substitute for wood can be made from hemp. These wood-like
building materials are stronger than wood and can be
manufactured cheaper than wood from trees. Using these hemp-
derived building materials would reduce building costs and
save even more trees!

Hemp seeds are a source of
nutritious high-protien oil that can be used for human and
animal consumption. Hemp oil is NOT intoxicating. Extracting
protein from hemp is less expensive than extracting protein
from soybeans. Hemp protein can be processed and flavored in
any way soybean protein can. Hemp oil can also be used to
make highly nutritious tofu, butter, cheese, salad oils, and
other foods. Hemp oil can also be used to produce paint,
varnish, ink, lubricating oils, and plastic susbstitues.
Because 50% of the weight of a mature hemp plant is seeds,
hemp could become a significant source for these
products.

Most hemp-derived products
are NONTOXIC, BIODEGRADABLE, and RENEWABLE!

Unlike virtually all hemp
substitutes, growing hemp requires very little effort and
very few resources. Most substitutes for hemp (sisal, kenaf,
sugar cane) grow in limited geographical areas and none have
the paper/fiber potential of hemp. Hemp can be grown in all
50 states!

Unlike many crops, hemp puts
little strain on the soil and requires only moderate amounts
of fertilizer. Less fertilizer use results in less runoff
into waterways and groundwater; therefore, less water
pollution.

Hemp produces more biomass
than any plant that can be grown in the U.S. This biomass
can be converted to fuel in the form of clean-burning
alcohol, or no-sulphur man-made coal. Hemp has more
potential as a clean and renewable energy source than any
crop on earth! It is estimated that if hemp was widely grown
in the U.S. for fuel/energy, it could supply 100% of all
U.S. energy needs!

Marijuana has dozens of
proven medicinal uses. Marijuana is more effective, less
toxic, and less expensive than alternative synthetic
medicines currently used. A recent poll revealed that over
50% of U.S. physicians would prescribe marijuana to their
patients if it was legally available. People who suffer from
arthritis, AIDS, rheumatism, leukimia, multiple sclerosis,
cancer, glauocoma, and other ailments can benefit from
marijuana as medicine. But because of our insane marijuana
laws, people in need of this medicine are denied it.
Marijuana is classified by the U.S. government as a
dangerous drug with no medicinal value, a classification
that is absolutely ludicrous! Marijuana is widely accepted
by the medical community as having numerous proven medicinal
uses - it is NOT a dangerous drug.

Hemp for rope, lubricating
oil, shoe material, and other materials was in such short
supply during World War II that the U.S. government
temporarily re-legalized hemp so U.S. farmers could grow it
for the war effort. Hemp helped us win World War II! Hemp
was a common crop that was grown legally in the U.S. for
commercial use until 1937.

Hemp was NOT banned because
it was a harmful drug. Hemp was banned because it was a
competitive threat to the wood products industry and newly
developed synthetic fibers that were patentable, and
therefore more profitable than hemp. Corporations that
profited from the demise of hemp propagated a smear campaign
against hemp by claiming that marijuana use was a major drug
problem (it was not) and that marijuana use caused people to
become extremely violent - another falsehood. Unfortunately,
these false claims went unchallenged and Congress outlawed
hemp in 1937. Unfortunately, millions of Americans still
believe the lies spread about marijuana/hemp.

On the eve of marijuana
prohibition in the U.S., two articles about hemp appeared in
major U.S. magazines. They were:

"The Most Profitable And
Desireable Crop That Can Be Grown" From: Mechanical
Engineering, February 26, 1937

"New Billion Dollar Crop"
From: Popular Mechanics, February 1938

These articles reveal that
hemp was on the verge of becoming a super crop because of
new hemp processing technologies that were recently
developed. Unfortunately, the potential of hemp was never
reaped because of marijuana prohibition.

Hemp is legally grown for
commercial use throughout much of Europe, India, China,
Russia, Ukraine. In 1994 the Canadian government approved
one experimental hemp field - its first legal hemp crop in
40 years. In 1995, there will be 11 government-approved hemp
fields in Canada! If the U.S. does not legalize hemp for
commercial use, a significant economic and environmental
opportunity will be lost; the benefits will be reaped only
by our economic competitors.

>Literally millions of
wild hemp plants grow throughout the entire Midwest today.
Wild hemp, like hemp grown for commercial use, is USELESS as
an intoxicant. It makes no sense to ban growing a plant that
has enormous economic and environmental potential, grows
naturally by the millions, and is impossible to exterminate.
But yet, our draconian drug laws state that one acre of hemp
grown on a person's property can result in the owner being
sentenced to DEATH! That's correct, the DEATH PENALTY exists
for growing one acre of nonintoxicating weeds!

U.S. Presidents and founding
fathers George Washington and Thomas Jefferson grew hemp,
used hemp products, and were hemp advocates. Today's
political leaders--as well as the public that favors
marijuana prohibition--would treat George Washington and
Thomas Jefferson with disdain, brand them criminals, and
throw them in prison!

FACT: NO TREE OR PLANT
SPECIES ON EARTH HAS THE COMMERCIAL, ECONOMIC, AND
ENVIRONMENTAL POTENTIAL OF HEMP. OVER 30,000 KNOWN PRODUCTS
CAN BE PRODUCED FROM HEMP!

"Make the most of the hemp
seed, sow it everywhere." - George Washington, first
president of the U.S. and hemp advocate.